This invention relates to switches for soda fountain dispensers and, more particularily, but not by way of limitation, to an activating member for switches in conventional soda fountain dispensers.
Pressure-sensitive buttons that activate switches by minimal fingertip pressure are readily available in the soda fountain dispenser industry. Such buttons are ordinarily comprised of a thin sheet with a flexible membrane centered and affixed onto the surface of the sheet. The sheet with the flexible membrane is mounted onto the outer surface of a molded face plate, and the plate, in turn, is mounted onto the head of a soda fountain dispenser. An ordinary electric switch is mounted onto the inner surface of the molded face plate such that the switch is situated immediately behind the flexible membrane and located inside the head of the soda fountain dispenser.
The electric switch is not connected to the flexible membrane, but is positioned extremely close (between 0.003 to 0.005 inch) to the membrane. This close proximity allows the connection of the electrical circuit with minimal pressure exerted by an operator's finger placed upon the flexible membrane of the pressure-sensitive button.
Because the flexible membrane and the switch have to be aligned in such close proximity, the overall structure has to necessarily be mounted onto a single molded plate. The required minimal distance between the membrane and the switch cannot be constantly maintained if the two are mounted on separate structures. The two elements have to be positioned at a constant distance of around 0.004 inch from each other, something that could only be achieved, prior to this invention, by mounting the pressure-sensitive button onto the outer surface of a molded plate and the electric switch onto the inner surface of the same molded plate.
Since the pressure-sensitive button and the electric switch have to be mounted onto a single molded face plate, the plate cannot be removed from the head of a soda fountain dispenser without disconnecting the electric wiring connecting the switch to the internal circuitry within the head of the soda fountain dispenser. This prevents the installation of an easily removable molded face plate.
If the molded face plate has to be removed (for example, to gain access to the interior of the dispenser head to adjust soda water to syrup ratio), the internal wiring connecting the switch within the dispenser head has to be disconnected. The face plate cannot be removed without concurrent disconnection of the electric switch.
Thus, the disadvantage of conventional pressure-sensitive buttons for soda fountain dispensers is that any adjustment or repairs that have to be conducted within the interior of the dispenser head requires the dismantling of the face plate on which the pressure-sensitive button is mounted and the disconnection of the wiring to the internal switch. This is the reason maintenance of the heads of conventional soda fountain dispenser switches is time-consuming and a drain on valuable manpower.
There is a need for a device which can facilitate maintenance of the interior of soda fountain dispenser heads by providing easily removable face plates with pressure-sensitive buttons without cumbersome dismounting and disconnection of electric circuitry.
This invention provides such a device and overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings of conventional soda fountain dispenser switches by providing an activating member which can easily be incorporated into available pressure-sensitive buttons. The novel activating member of the present invention allows for removable face plates that can be removed without disconnection of electric circuitry connecting the internal switch of the dispenser heads.